Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Redemption

The bathroom scales show a significant
loss this week. But before you start applauding, keep in mind that the majority
of that loss is the quick shedding of the extra weight I packed on over the
Purim holiday (see previous post) nashing (snacking) on cake and other
types of extraneous and unneeded stuff. The good news is that I am at the
lowest that I have been for the last several months. (About four months ago I
managed to reach about a half kilo less than today.)

However, I am wary to celebrate, as Pesach
(Passover) is on the horizon, as well as the hectic weeks leading up to the
holiday. Now I LOVE Passover, and don't even mind the house-cleaning which precedes
it. But if Purim has
traditionally been a downfall for me (see previous post), Pesach, and
the weeks leading up to it have even more so.

For any of you who do not know, the
pre-Passover period, for the Jewish housewife is a marathon. Passover cleaning
CAN be done easily, but most of us take the chance to spring clean while
getting rid of all the leaven we own. And that getting rid of the leaven makes
it much more than spring cleaning. After
cleaning our house, we need to store away our regular dishes, cover all counter
tops, and get out the Passover dishes. And while doing this, we need to feed
our families without the benefit of kitchen facilities. (For example, imagine
making a salad where to rinse each vegetable you need to run to the other side
of the house to a water source.) And if you are overworked and tired, the
temptation to reach into a cupboard for some luscious Passover chocolate (read
"easy instant energy fix") can be pretty great. Then, you start
cooking holiday meals, hopefully festive ones, which generally are NOT that low
in calories. So it is no surprise that each year I gain over Passover, and I am
skeptical of my ability to withstand the temptations that are impending.

And, as I indicated in the previous post, wishful
thinking about "doing better this year" is just not enough. If I want
to emerge on the other side of March without a gain, I need to take some
concrete action. Here's my plan:

1)I will buy the chocolate
for cooking (and the grandkids) ONLY after the kitchen is ready for Passover
and fully functional. When I am able to cook up a pot of vegetable soup, the
lure of the sweet "fix" should be more manageable. Yes, it will cost
more in the local grocery than the supermarket, but that's OK. (And if my
husband insists on having the tan temptation, he will have to buy and hide for
himself.)

2)Plan menus which are easier
and less time consuming for the holiday. There is no need to cook gourmet that
leftovers are "a pity" to dispose of. There are lots of pretty,
healthy, and easy menus out there.

3)Work on getting at least 6
hours of sleep a night. Even if that means less spring cleaning and less time
online.

4)Try to maintain a minimum
of "walking" (exercise) time (even if only half an hour). I know that
walking not only keeps my metabolism going, but it decreases my appetite, and
busts away stress.

And then, for the holiday of redemption, I
hope to celebrate redemption from my former bad eating habits.

2 comments:

Crazy thought -and I have not be in diligent in exercise walking or the vast weight-loss you have achieved... But what if you bought one chocolate bar at a time (and I don't mean every hour,lol) and cut it up into its squares and slowly enjoy a square or two after some cleaning and some walking? Or a parve chocolate bar? Milk chocolate by me can disappear very quickly but parve I suck on each piece as if it were a hard candy. Or maybe "invest" in Schmerling mini chocolates ...

A description of this blog

This blog is basically a diary, journal, and notes of observations. In the past it dealt mostly with the topics of special needs, especially a real view of what life is like with (and for) a teen with Down syndrome. However, since Ricki's death in August 2012, at age 17, the amount of blogging on the subject of "special needs" has decreased. Additional topics are interpersonal relationships, life in Israel, and dieting. (I have lost 75 kilos...)(And no, I did NOT have weight-loss surgery....) Also an occasional get-on-a-soapbox-and-tell-it-like-it-is personal opinion.

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